Jay-Z and Beyoncé Talk to the Feds

By, Alex O’Sullivan-Pierce

The proud new parents keeping a relatively low profile.

That’s right, just weeks after the birth of their first child music icons and former renegades, Jay and Bey, are seeking the protection of the United States Government. But it’s not from the FBI, CIA nor the DEA. It is the USPTO- the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

In a seemingly reactive maneuver, the celebrity couple successfully registered a federally protected trademark for their infant’s name, “Blue Ivy Carter.” The mark claims control over the use of the name in relation to a wide variety of goods and services including…

Andy Samberg Sued for Copyright Infringement

By Maria Cheung

Reviewed by Jennifer Williams

Comedian Andy Samberg is facing a copyright lawsuit over his Saturday Night Live (“SNL”) digital shorts “Shy Ronnie” and “Like A Boss.” The lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court in early November by St. Louis musicians and production team Aleric “Rick tha Ruler” Banks and Monique Hines against Samberg, The Lonely Island (Samberg’s comedy troup/band), SNL, Universal Republic Records and NBC Universal for willful copyright infringement and unjust enrichment. According to court documents, Banks and Hines claim they created and copyrighted the music that formed the basis for “Shy Ronnie” and “Like A Boss.”

What’s a Bieber to do?

By Alison Parker

Reviewed by Jennifer Williams

Did he or didn’t he?–this is a question many Justin Bieber fans have been asking ever since allegations surfaced that he fathered a love child with 20-year-old fan Mariah Yeater. The drama started when Yeater filed a paternity lawsuit seeking support from Bieber, although Bieber claims that he has “never met the woman” and that the allegations that he and Yeater engaged in consensual unprotected sex backstage after an October 25, 2010 concert are completely false.

Music Piracy and the Music Industry

By Kyu Hee Chu

Reviewed by Jennifer Williams 

The debate on whether MP3s and music piracy is leading to the downfall of the music industry has been an ongoing one.  You certainly don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that at least part of the decline of the music industry has been attributed to the widespread use of MP3s and file-sharing programs that allow illegal transfers of music files.  On the other hand, the decline of the music industry has also been attributed to a variety of other factors, which will be discussed in further detail in this article.

Michael Jackson’s Estate to Proceed with Lawsuit

By Alison Parker

Reviewed by Jennifer Williams

Michael Jackson’s estate filed a lawsuit in January against Howard Mann, a business partner of Jackson’s mother Katherine, and the owner/operator of the website, www.JacksonSecretVault.com. The lawsuit alleges that Mann misused Jackson’s intellectual property rights and violated various copyright and trademark laws in its use of Michael Jackson’s (MJ) name and image on the products offered for sale on the website. Showbiz411 reported that Mann purchased the contents of a Jackson family warehouse full of Jackson memorabilia after the warehouses’ then-owner filed for bankruptcy. Mann sells the memorabilia, which includes Jackson family items like DVDs, photos and calendars, on the website. It is easy to see why the estate believes that Mann’s site causes consumer confusion; aside from using MJ’s name and image to promote the memorabilia, Mann goes as far as to actually thank the Jackson Estate on the website–a gesture which understandably could make any consumer or potential purchaser feel as though the Jackson Estate actually endorses the website and the products it sells. The L.A. Times reported that the estate seeks attorneys’ fees and damages as well as the profits from the memorabilia, including profits from “Never Can Say Goodbye,” a book of family photos Katherine Jackson promoted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Lady Gaga Sues Over Lady Gaga Trademark

By Alison Parker

Reviewed by Jennifer Williams

Lady Gaga has made it clear time and time again that she will stop at nothing to protect her trademark and image. The pop singer recently filed a lawsuit against Excite Worldwide LLC over its frivolous trademark application. The Nevada-based jewelry and cosmetics company filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to score the rights to use the name “Lady Gaga” and “Lady Gaga LG” for one of their product lines. Her lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Copyrights and their role in Creativity

By Charles Hwang

Reviewed by Jennifer Williams

The first time I heard Weird Al Yankovic, I was 13 years old. The song was ‘Amish Paradise.’ To this day it remains one of my favorite songs. I remember thinking to myself, “I’ve heard this song before.” In fact I was right. Weird Al had appropriated the melody to Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ and changed the lyrics. I don’t know if Weird Al asked for Coolio’s permission, but the creativity of Weird Al’s work was stunning.

Weird Al didn’t invent the art of parody (anytime you took the melody of a song and changed the lyrics you were involved in the creation of a parody), but he certainly made it mainstream. Prior to Weird Al’s release of ‘Amish Paradise,’ the Supreme Court decided the landmark case of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. (510 U.S. 569 [1994]) (see 2Live Crew’s ‘Pretty Woman’) where it decided that commercial parody can qualify as fair use. This ruling, in my opinion, has led to the principle that laws governing copyright can bend in order to foster greater creativity.

Trademark Your Name and Save Yourself a Headache

By Kyu Hee Chu

Reviewed By Cynthia Amis

One of the first things that an artist needs to do before embarking on his career is to come up with a unique name that he (or she) will use as a performer.  Many simply use the name they were born with, while others come up with new distinctive names.  Whatever the artist chooses as his stage name, he must remember to trademark that name from the outset if he wants to save himself from potential future headaches.

Is imitation the most sincere form of flattery?

By Adi Efrat

Reviewed by Cynthia Amis

Imitation certainly can be a sign of flattery, but it can also be copyright infringement. Generally, when imitation is discussed in a copyright infringement context, the imitation or “copying” is done within one medium.  High end fashion clothing is imitated by inexpensive national chains, images and works of art are constantly republished online without a license, and television shows are posted all over the internet and accessible to the public free of charge, and without permission from the copyright holders.

However, recently, the issue of cross medium infringement has arisen regarding music videos.

Ringtones- the next Napster?

Ring Tones have become quite a big business, but the issue of how much the copyright owner should get per ring tone has been hotly debated.  According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week, 24 cents was the going rate as reported in the New York Law Journal. The price of the average ring tone download costs the consumer $1-$10 per download CNET This shows a sizeable markup for the ringtone agencies that many times start their business first and worry about copyrights and licensing second. The profit, however, is shared between the ringtone company and the cell phone service provider.